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10 Ways to Keep a Clean Campsite

Ever pack your tent away in the basement after a camping trip even when it's still damp? You will likely find a rather unpleasant odor the next time you take it out. Here are some tips to help prevent this from happening and other suggestions that can help keep your site and gear clean.

Set up your Tent to Dry If it was raining or damp while you were camping, always set up your tent afterwards so it can completely dry out. If you find that there is a small build up of mold, start by brushing it off and then clean thoroughly with a simple homemade solution; 1 cup of lemon juice, 1 cup of salt and 1 gallon of warm water. When you have cleaned out your tent or other gear with this solution, ensure that you leave it out to dry completely. Once dry, your gear should be clean and free of unpleasant odors. If not, repeat the process or use a fungicide for extreme situations.Submitted By: Jennifer Cowlen

Camping Near a Beach? When we beach camp we bring a huge container of baby powder and sprinkle it on the mat outside. This helps remove sand from the bottoms of our feet so it doesn't make it into our sleeping bags. It also works to get sand out of your kid's scalp and your baby's diaper area. Submitted By: Karen Hoffman

Easy Tent Cleanup After many years of tent camping we have always put a tarp under the tent to help protect it. However, now we have learned not only to put an older tarp under it, but to keep a nice tarp for the inside of the tent. This protects the floor and makes it fast to clean when packing up and gives the feeling of wall to wall carpet in the tent. Why didn't someone tell me this year's ago? Submitted By: Jeff Gillespie

Outdoor Paper Towel Holder We always bring a clothing hanger with us when we go camping. We cut the bottom wire, spring it open and insert a paper towel roll. To keep it out of the way, we hang it from a tree limb or another readily available place close to the table and cooking area. Submitted By: Sandy Dodson

Keep the Tent Clean We use a woven grass mat in front of our tent entrance to keep the dirt on the outside rather than inside our tent. We have a rule; wipe your feet before coming into the tent.Submitted By: Mary Gessner

Garbage Can Tip When camping, we use a pop up hamper as a garbage can. It has a zipper lid to keep animals out and it collapses to store easily in the camper. If it gets soiled, we just hose it and let it dry.Submitted By: Sue Miller

Wash Basin Use a five gallon jug with a spigot and place it sideways atop a picnic table. If you place a standard dish tub underneath to catch the water, it is like having a kitchen sink at your site. Put some liquid soap and a dish brush near by to help with the process. Submitted By: Andrew Yant

Camping in Screened Shelters Bring along a broom, mop, buckets and a hose when camping in a screened shelter. You can mop your shelter's concrete floor with a solution of bleach water, then hose down the inside of the shelter. It takes a little longer to unpack but will sanitize the floor and eliminate spiders from nesting in your tent.Submitted By: Kathy Gunderson

Jug Hand WasherUse a one gallon jug and a nail, fill it with water and tie it to a tree by the handle upright. Put a nail in the bottom of the jug and make sure the jug has a cap on it. When you want to wash your hands, loosen the cap, pull the nail and you have a stream of water. When your done, replace the nail and tighten the cap. Submitted By: Pete Queen

Soap to Wash HandsCut the foot off an old pair of pantyhose and put a bar of soap in it. You will always have a clean bar of soap to your wash hands without worrying about dropping it on the ground. Tie it around the faucet and let it hang. Submitted By: Beverly Phillips

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